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by the46captainswanfiles



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bedsharing, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mostly Fluff, Season 2 Spec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-13 00:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11748270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the46captainswanfiles/pseuds/the46captainswanfiles
Summary: Jughead Jones hasn't had a home in years. But now, he finally seems to have one again. Can he prove that to Betty after everything they've gone through in the past 48 hours?





	Home

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fic that I whipped up after seeing the deleted scene from the season one finale. Sort of a canon divergence, sort of a spec fic. I wrote this in two hours and didn't proof it, but here it is!

_“Jughead, Mrs. Cooper and I would like to volunteer to be your guardian. You’d stay at Riverdale High and you’d come live at our house.”_

Jughead thinks about The Coopers’ offer a lot as he sits in the waiting room in the hospital, Hal Cooper’s jacket just brushing his arm.

Archie sits across from him, hands, jacket and cast covered in vibrant red blood as he bounces his knee, eager for any sign of the doctors emerging from the operating room. Veronica sits at his side, looking somewhat lost; Jughead’s not sure she really knows what to do. Her mother sits at her side, but makes no move to comfort or help her daughter. Alice’s hand has found her husband’s, just as Betty’s has found Jughead’s.

It’s something solid for him to focus on. His thoughts feel jumbled, overwhelming; Fred Andrews has been more of a father to him than FP has been in a long while, and sitting in the waiting room of a hospital while one father is locked up in prison and the other lies open and bleeding on an operating table has Jughead more than worried.

He’s terrified.

Betty’s hand in his keeps him grounded. He knows that breaking in front of Archie would only hurt his friend even more, and the weight of her elegant, small fingers twined through his long and strong ones keeps him from shedding the tears that press behind his eyes.

Jughead doesn’t remember falling asleep, but he does remember Betty shaking him awake. He starts when he realizes his head had fallen onto her shoulder, his hat slightly askew. Despite the affection she’s shown him in the past few hours, they’re still plenty the two of them need to talk about.

Archie stands ahead of them, his free fingers grabbing at the bottom of his jacket as the doctor speaks. With a steady voice, she informs them, “Mr. Andrews survived the surgery, but he’s still in critical condition. Now, we’ll just have to wait. Archie, you can see your father now. As for the rest of your…friends, as he is in the ICU, it might be best that they leave, or do not come in such large groups. If he does wake up, we don’t want him overwhelmed.”

Jughead watches his friend nod in response to the doctor’s words, but he’s not sure Archie is taking them all in. He’s just quick enough to catch Archie as his legs give out, helping him into a seat. Veronica is quick to sit next to him, rubbing his back in a soothing manor.

Mr. Cooper takes action, sitting down in the chair on Archie’s other side. “Archie, whoever you want to stay, you just have to ask.” It’s the first time Jughead has seen Hal be the least bit considerate to another person, but he doesn’t seem to be faking it.

“Ronnie,” Archie manages. “I want Ronnie to stay.”

(Jughead’s not disappointed, but he’s a little disappointed).

“Alright.” Hal stands, but Veronica doesn’t make any move to get up. Jughead isn’t surprised. “Let’s get going, then.”

Archie doesn’t look up as Betty squeezes his hand or Jughead rubs his shoulder. Jughead calmly states, “Whatever you need, Man, we’re here for you,” and Archie finally responds, his hand reaching up to grab the hand on his shoulder and squeezing it slightly.

Betty and Jughead follow Hal and Alice out of the hospital, Hermione slightly behind them. Betty’s parents stay behind to speak to Hermione as the two of them walk forward. Betty is the first one to speak.

(Neither of them are surprised).

“Are you coming back to the house with us?” She asks.

Jughead raises his brow. “I…didn’t think you’d want me to.” He answers honestly.

Betty sighs. “Juggie, it’s been a long day. And we haven’t had any time to talk, but we need to. For now I just want to go home and go to bed, okay?” Jughead finds himself nodding. “Oh, and another thing….just because you’re insistent on leaving us doesn’t mean I’m going to let you.”

Jughead smiles; it’s halfhearted and closed-lipped because with everything going on, smiling wide doesn’t seem like something he can do. Regardless, Betty smiles back, her arm linking through his and her head lying on his shoulder in exhaustion.

For the first time all day, Jughead finally feels like he has a family.

* * *

 

Hal stops by his foster home so Jughead can grab some clothes, and by the time they arrive at the Cooper residence, it’s nearly 10 o’clock at night. Polly is lying on the couch in the living room when they enter, a bowl perched on top of her large stomach and the TV on as she flicks through the channels. Polly struggles to stand but still manages to, embracing her sister when she spots the fatigue on the younger Cooper’s face.

Jughead leaves them to it, allowing Alice to show him upstairs to the guest room he already knows the location of. He’s been in plenty of homes in the past few months-the drive in, the school, the Andrews’, his foster family, and now this one- and in every single one, he’s always felt somewhat out of place. He knows this one, has known it for a while now, but knowing that Mr. and Mrs. Cooper reside just down the hall and Betty in the room next door makes him feel…odd. He knows this family by now and knows their habits, and he feels like he’s imposing on them with his dark colors and dark attitude.

He changes into plaid pajama pants and leaves his shirt off as he brushes his hair out and then pulls the covers to the bed down, slipping into the bed. He still feels off, running his hand through his hair as he tries to quiet his thoughts, and fails.

The look on Archie’s face when they had walked into the hospital is something Jughead will never forget. The complete and utter devastation in his eyes, the way he had sobbed into the embrace…Jughead doesn’t even try to stop the tears gathering in this eyes, squeezing them shut and letting them fall. The wetness coats his face as he lets himself cry, and just as he lets out a sob, the door creaks open.

Jughead bolts up, hastily wiping the tears off his face. He figures its Hal or Alice checking up on him to make sure everything is alright, but the figure in the doorway is too short to be either of them.

“Betty?”

Her blonde hair glows in the light as she shuts the door, her slippers scuffing against the floor as she makes her way to the other side of the bed. Wordlessly, she pulls the covers back, toeing her slippers off as she slides in next to him.

“What…” Jughead’s mouth drops open as she scoots closer to him, but his body seems to know what it’s doing as he settles back into the pillows, letting her curl into his side. “Bets, you parents…”

“Will understand, eventually.” Betty responds. Her hands finds its way onto his chest and he doesn’t hesitate to bring his arm around her, his fingers tangling in her blonde locks. “I’m just tired, Jug. I can’t shut my brain off, but I thought maybe…” Her green eyes move up to meet his blue ones, nearly glowing in the darkness. “Just hold me. Please.”

If Jughead had more willpower, he would refuse. Tell her that it’s not a good idea, because her parents are just down the hall, and he’d rather not be kicked out of the house after his first night. But he’s tired and desperate for some sort of comfort, and he sees the same feeling he has in her eyes when he searches them. Without another word, Jughead simply nods and pulls her closer to him, pressing a feather light kiss to the top of her head. He feels her sigh lightly, but knows her eyes are closed-he can feel the slight brush of her eyelashes on his chest.

He lets his eyes close too, and doesn’t open them for hours.

* * *

 

When Jughead wakes up, he’s alone. The clock on his bedside reads 9:27- he’s surprised he slept so late. Rubbing a hand over his face, he stretches, jumping when the door opens abruptly. As if knowing he’s just awoken, Alice is at the door, fully dressed and rambling on, “Good morning, Jughead! Hal and I are headed off to work, Polly has an appointment, and Betty’s out getting breakfast, so you’ll have the house to yourself for a little while. Is there anything I can get you?”

Jughead’s slow to take things in; he watches Alice bustle about the room as she speaks, opening the curtains and taking his laundry from yesterday. Finally, he manages to respond, “I’m all set, Mrs. Cooper. Thank you,”

Like a freaking fairy, she just seems to disappear.

Jughead dresses and heads downstairs in a few minutes, but the house seems to be empty when he gets down there. He pours himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the kitchen counter and settles down to read the newspaper lying on the kitchen table when the front door opens.

“Mom!” Jughead smirks at the sound of Betty’s voice, coming into the house with a bag from Pop’s in her hand. She blinks when she spots him at the kitchen table. “Hey, you’re finally awake!”

He smirks. “Yeah, I guess everything that’s been going on just kinda drained me. It was one of the best night sleeps I’ve had in a long time.”

He doesn’t miss the smirk she shoots him as she responds, “Should I take that as a compliment?”

Instead of responding with one of his usual sarcastic comments, he pauses for a moment before insisting, “Betty, we should talk.” “

Now?” She questions, but she seems to realize that her protests are futile. “Okay. Let’s talk.”

Without skipping a beat, Jughead responds, “I’m sorry.”

Betty’s head turns to the side in confusion. “What are you apologizing for?”

“I reacted the wrong way when the serpents showed up at the door.” Jughead clarifies. “I should’ve hesitated, taken some time to think about everything, but…I’ve never fit in anywhere, Bets. And for a second there, I thought that maybe I could fit in with the serpents. But these past 24 hours, being with you and Archie and Veronica and your family, I don’t want to fit in with the serpents. I want to fit in here. And I’m sorry it took me so long to figure that out.”

Betty reaches out to grab his hand. With a small smile, she responds, “And I’d be happy to help you with that.” Jughead smiles; and not his one with just his lips, where he’s not really trying to smile, but a real smile. He beams at the blonde standing in front of him, so happy that they’re finally on the same page about something other than a murder investigation for once.

He’s just… _so happy._ For the first time in a very long time.

Betty reaches up, grabbing the back of his neck to pull him down to her. He’s still smiling as she pulls her lips to hers, more teeth than anything else because of the grins on their faces. Jughead responds in kind, his hands moving up to cup her cheeks. She pulls away before he can get too into it, reaching down to grab his hand and _pull._

“Wha…?” Betty smirks as she pulls him towards the stairs, not saying anything in response to his confusion. She drags him along behind her, pulling him into her bedroom and locking the door behind her. Her hands move up over his shoulders, up to caress his cheeks and then to his hat, easing it off his head and onto the floor. Looking into her vibrant green eyes, he asks, “Betty, are you sure?”

She smiles lightly, nose brushing his as she leans in. “Yes,” she confirms, adding a quick, “I love you,” for good measure before pressing her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling her into him.

Jughead laughs lightly, reaching down to loop his arms around her legs and pick her up. She chuckles too as she pulls his sweater over his head, letting him land on top of her on her bed. He pulls away to pull her shirt up too, faces barely separated as he whispers, “I love you too, you know.”

Betty’s smile brings another to his face, but with this girl in his life…she doesn’t think he’ll ever stop beaming.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! I love writing Jughead's POV so much because it feels so effortless for me, and bughead is so much fun to write, so you shouldn't be surpised if some more of it pops up soon! Come say hi to me on tumblr, over at captainstydiaswanx.


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